Commentary
California’s counties usually have a budget department and an elected auditor-controller. The controller handles the disbursements and the annual audit but rarely gets involved in the budget process.
The city of Los Angeles, the second most populated city in the nation behind New York City, also has an elected controller who runs citywide. And the role is similar to that of a county, where auditor-controllers run countywide and supervisors run in five districts.
The advantage of being independently elected is that the controller can be more public about the status of the city without fear of retribution from the elected mayor and city council members. The only concerns this officeholder should have are angry voters every four years when he or she is up for reelection and has a challenger, or upsetting the electorate and special interest groups so much that they mount a recall effort. However, for a city of 4 million people, it’s very difficult to unseat an incumbent at the ballot box or through an organized recall….